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So after procrastinating for 6 years, I am finally going to do it. I know the sticky and chewy food is bad news, but any tricks to eating semi-normal (hard to resist) foods like steak, pizza, bread, etc?

Any tips for cleaning teeth and gums? I think the floss threader will be a fail... but I thought I saw sticks that can be used in place of floss?

Congratulations on getting braced soon! I have Damon as well. :) I don't really eat meat, so I can't attest to that, but pizza and bread really haven't been that difficult to chew (I even have bite blockers and I still manage!) My only suggestion would be to cut/tear everything into small pieces. I know it's not ideal, but it's much more manageable that way. My orthodontist told me not to "baby my teeth" so I still eat pretty normally, but I avoid really hard foods.

Flossing takes a bit of getting used to, but it's so worth it! It took me 45 minutes to floss the first night I had braces, but now I'm down to around 15. I don't bother with the floss threaders at all because I actually found them more difficult to use. Also, use your interdental/proxy brush daily! It works great at keeping your brackets nice and clean. A WaterPik isn't necessary, but I find it to come in handy (it definitely does not replace regular flossing though). I also recommend an electric toothbrush with a small round head (Oral-B is great). I use that twice a day (morning and night) and a manual toothbrush between lunch/snacks. I find that the electric toothbrush makes my teeth feel a lot cleaner. Also, drinks LOTS of water because your mouth will probably dry out pretty easily. Mouthwash is a definite necessity as well. You'll develop a routine pretty quickly that works best for you! :)

The trick to eating all foods is patients and repetition. Some people have some sensitivity in the first few days/weeks and they may prefer soft foods for some of that time. The sooner you're chewing and biting, the better for your teeth and gums. Think of the millions of kids who get braces everyday ... there's no way they're going to stop enjoying pizza and other fun foods. I'm sure you'll be right!

Cleaning your teeth in the beginning can take a little longer, but with practise you'll adjust. Flossing once a day is essential for the health of your gums (braces or not), brushing with a soft childs brush is recommended and definitely don't overbrush as you risk damaging the enamel on your teeth and your gums. Using interdental brushes to clean between teeth (if you have gaps), around brackets and under the archwire, does make life easier. Then finish by rinsing with a fluoride mouthwash.

Flossing ... the threader for me was a fail, but oral b superfloss is amazing! It has a stiffened end that is tiny and can be threaded through at the gum line, so that flossing the most important area, the bit just below the gum line, is easy. The floss also has a 'fluffy' bit, which is great for cleaning around brackets and under the archwire.

Make sure you keep your water levels high, as a well hydrated body is a healthy body, but it also helps your mouth to cope with the brackets. Use wax generously as soon as a bracket rubs, this way your mouth toughens without getting sores. If your mouth is achy, a warm salt water rinse done 5+ times a day is a great way to help that.

Good luck!

After 5 years, 11 months and two days of stainless steel brackets ... my teeth now have upper and lower bonded, gold wire, retainers and removable clear retainers!

Chocolate pudding cups
Strawberry apple sauce cups
Pears in a cup
Oranges in a cup
Minestrone, or other noodle soup
Milk/Orange juice
WATER

Childrens toothbrush x 3
A few small tubes of toothpaste
Small bottles of mouthwash
- Hide the above in lots of places

You're going to be sore the first few days. Your teeth will hurt and you won't be able to chew or bite down hard. It will pass. Take advil.
After that, you can slowly eat pizza and other soft-ish foods. Use a knife and fork if necessary. Don't be shy.
You're not going to be eating tough things like steak for a bit. Especially if you have bite blockers, say goodbye to your steak for months or years, depending on how thick they are.
Brush immediately after every meal. Use mouthwash. Then use the mirror and make sure everything is clean.
Brush and floss every night before bed. - don't floss in the morning. You'll spend the whole day shoving food between your teeth, and sleep with it there at night. Get it out before your go to bed so you mouth doesn't taste like an elephants ass in the morning.

Above all remember that this is a big monetary and time commitment for the duration of your treatment. Don't screw it all up by having poor hygiene or skipping necessary things. You don't want a bunch of semi straight teeth that fall out as soon as you get your braces removed.

Thanks for the advice! I am using ports shopping list tonight. Because I have a significant over-bite, I assume I will need bite wings (are these also called "turbos"?) so my steak chewing days may be over for a while :( .

Well, there's bite turbos and bite blockers/molar buildup. I'm sure there's other things as well. I was originally supposed to get bite turbos, but I have a very significant overbite as well and the bite turbos wouldn't have prevented my top teeth from hitting my lower teeth. This is what bite turbos look like:

So, I have bite blockers/molar buildup instead. It's these blue blocks on my upper back molars. This what those look like:

I imagine you'll probably getting either one of those. I'm not sure how bite turbos are since I didn't actually get those, but bite blockers aren't too bad once you get used to them. It definitely takes a bit of time though. Good luck! :)

The floss threaders have been awesome for me. I had a lot of crowding on my molars, so I couldn't use OralB super floss at first. That stuff has a lot of thicker parts to it. So I would tie regular glide floss to the threader and pull it through the wire. It took some getting used to, and took about 15 minutes to floss. I'm under 5 minutes now. Plus I learned some cool ways to move my tongue to help move the floss threader around.. lol.

Superfloss might work great for you, but it was painful for me. Now that my crowding is mostly fixed, I'm still using the floss threaders. I bought 3 packs of 50 each, so thats a 5 month supply, plus my ortho gave me some.

I got my Damon Clears on 6/2. My mouth is still sore and biting down is my biggest problem, but it has gotten better each day. Im hoping that by the end of the week everything will be back to normal.

I havent attempted to eat meat yet, but I have eaten pizza twice. The first time I did have to cut it into small pieces and I also cut off the back of it as it was a little too hard. I had pizza last night though and it was pretty easy to eat!

As others have said...flossing takes a while, but once you get the hang of it its not so bad. It took me 30 minutes the first couple of nights, but Im down to 10 minutes now. I use the Oral B SuperFloss and its great.

Im a brush-aholic now. Im an adult as well and Im so embarrassed after I eat bc my mouth is a mess! I immediately pull out my brush, tooth paste and mouth wash and look for the nearest sink!

I decided to destroy only one summer by posptponing until September 6th. Hopefully the Ortho's timetable works out and 20 months from 9/6/11 (May 2013?) I will be down to just a retainer... I hope! Then only one full summer will be a challenge for me.

Off to the races

So I have my Damon's on as of 11:30am EST today. My ortho thinks 20 months, give or take. I hope it's "take" as shorter is okay with me. The installation went smooth. No extractions and I have bite blockers that will take some getting used to. So far no discomfort... feels like it did whee I had not flossed in a while, had my teeth cleaned and then ate (that mild ache - not unbearable).

Anyway, I guess I'll learn as I go. Definitely no sticky or crunchy stuff! I will start slow.